


SEX (Stash Enhancement eXperience)

by lachesisgrimm (olga_theodora)



Series: knitting au [2]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Cats, Devoted Reylo, Established Relationship, F/M, Modern AU, Yarn shop AU, ben has a love/hate relationship with the annual yarn crawl, discussions of pregnancy, knitting innuendo galore, let's talk about birth control methods, summer in atlanta, yarn crawls are srs business
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:42:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23994706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/olga_theodora/pseuds/lachesisgrimm
Summary: Ten days of Atlanta summer.(Set during chapter six ofpurl two together.)
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: knitting au [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1730266
Comments: 92
Kudos: 361
Collections: F@$k Cancer in the Ass (For a Good Cause)





	SEX (Stash Enhancement eXperience)

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written for Minstrel's Colorectal Cancer Alliance fundraiser, which you can read about [here](https://twitter.com/SpaceMinstrels/status/1250957840421797889). 
> 
> I seriously suggest reading _purl two together_ before this one-shot; I'm not sure it will make much sense otherwise. For those who have read that fic, this takes place in chapter six, after ( **SPOILER** ) Rey gets a job but before they officially become engaged. 
> 
> Also, I would recommend using the creator's skin for this fic, because I decided to try my hand at inserting text messages.

**Thursday, August 28, 2019**

The AC in her MARTA car was out, but she had managed to snare a seat during the evening rush hour, so Rey couldn’t find it within herself to complain… or at least not _too_ much. A car full of tired commuters with failing deodorant was nothing to dismiss idly, after all. 

But still. She was going home, and those words held a lot of weight, in Rey’s mind. Even with her linen shirt sticking damply to her back and the smell of sweat and overly aggressive perfume in her nose, she still smiled as she imagined walking into the cool interior of her apartment- and smiled wider when her phone vibrated and a familiar name popped up on the screen.

Ben  
  
The color still isn’t right. This was a bad idea.  
  


Tapping away, body instinctively leaning into the rattle and sway of the train, she sent back a reply.

Ben  
  
It’s a great idea. Stop worrying.  
  
I BELIEVE IN YOU.  
  
Please don’t loom over Dop like an angry tree; you know he’s the best employee you’ve ever had.  
  
I should have hired someone to do this for us.  
  
Too late. The crawl is hurtling toward you like a freight train  
  
Or like Bastila when she wants to be fed  
  
I’d rather have a long evening with you.  
  
There’s leftover lasagna in the fridge.  
  
Don’t wait up, purl girl.  
  


She would, most likely. Just to be sure he made it home safe, just for the pleasure of falling asleep next to him. She slept best, in the curve of his body- and if anyone had told her a year ago that she would find someone who made her feel so utterly secure and cherished, she would have snorted dismissively to hide just how much the lack hurt.

But now she had Ben. Ben, three cats, and a burgeoning collection of knitwear that she would start wearing the moment the temperature dropped to even moderately acceptable. _Best year of my life,_ she thought with a satisfied smile, and switched over to the open Ao3 tab on her phone. 

The cats were already convened at the door when she entered their apartment, voices lifted in a volley of query and complaint. As she dropped her bag to the floor they curved around her ankles, Breha planting her front paws against Rey’s knee with a pitiful mew. “You won’t get fed if I break a limb, you know,” she told them as she shuffled toward the kitchen, each step hobbled by twining suede gremlins. “Not for several hours, at least. Unless you eat me, which I suppose you might.” 

Bastila shot her a look that seemed to confirm just that. 

“What do you think I should do tonight?” she asked them after appeasing their demand for dinner, grabbing a wine glass from the cabinet and uncorking the half-drunk bottle of cabernet on the counter. “Besides gorge myself on lasagna, which- admittedly- I will one way or another.”

Revan’s tail twitched as he continued to chow down, as if affronted by her failure to remain silent during his sacred mealtime. 

She could take a bubble bath, Rey mused as the microwave worked its magic on a very large square of Ben’s excellent from-scratch lasagna. Use some of that bubble bar from Lush that he enjoyed smelling on her skin, steal one of his shirts and lounge around until he came home… and then, she could massage his back until he either fell asleep or decided to steal the shirt back. A nice turnabout, considering how often she benefited from his strong hands rubbing the knots from her own shoulders- or would have been, if she hadn’t fallen prey to the lure of the cozy crocheted blanket they kept draped over the back of the couch after her bath and mid- _Persuasion._

She didn’t flinch, didn’t startle when her sleep was disturbed by the feel of strong arms carefully sliding underneath her. “You smell like vinegar,” she mumbled against Ben’s chest as he lifted her up, and yawned. 

“To set the dye.” He held her with easy confidence, lips brushing over her forehead. “Go back to sleep, baby.”

“I was going to rub your shoulders.” 

“How about a rain check?” 

“Hmm.” She snuggled closer, eyes still closed. “Did the color come out right?”

“After a while.” Ben’s voice, already quiet, dipped to an intimate murmur. “The exact color of your nipples.”

Rey laughed, rubbing her nose against the cotton of his t-shirt. “I thought you were joking about that.”

“Nice and rosy. I’ll make you a pair of socks with one of the skeins.” He placed her gently on the bed, then reached out to switch on the nearest lamp. “Of course,” Ben continued as she blinked up at him, sliding his finger along the button band of the shirt she wore, “a quick check would be helpful. Just in case.”

With a slow, sleepy smile she stretched, leaving her arms at ease above her head. “As long as you don’t go running off into the night to fix any mistakes.”

“That might strain even Dop’s patience.” He began undressing after taking the few needed steps away to shut the door against curious cats. “And I’d have to explain my reason why, which-”

“Oh, God.”

“-which is a private matter between the two of us.” Ben gave her a slow smile as he unbuttoned his jeans. “So let me see.”

He was in a sweetly teasing mood as he unbuttoned the shirt and nuzzled at her breasts (“I was right,” he murmured against sensitive skin, his scruff tickling), content to make her giggle and squirm as he made suggestions for the next year’s yarn crawl skeins between kisses. 

“You can’t do pink two years in a row,” she chided him with a half-smile and a blush when he followed up one suggestion with a swirl of his tongue in her navel. 

“Can, too.” He hooked his fingers in the waistband of her underwear. “I’m going to call it ‘Purl Stitch’,” he said with a gentle nip at the curve of her waist, tugging the article of clothing down her legs. 

Rey propped herself up on her elbows, giving him the best glare she could muster under the circumstances. “Ben Solo, if you _dare_ name a yarn after my clit-”

He tossed her underwear onto the floor, not looking at all apologetic. “No one would know.”

“I would.”

Ben pressed a kiss to the inside of her thigh, smile soft. “Perhaps one the color of your eyes, then.” A second kiss, a little higher, one hand coming up to press flat against her belly. “Lie back, sweetheart- yes, just like that.” A third, where thigh met hip. “I’ve been thinking about this all day.”

“You-”

She sucked in a breath at the first dart of his tongue, clenching her hands in the sheets. “Amid the dye and- and vinegar?” 

“Dying yarn,” he said in an overly serious tone, nuzzling his cheek against her inner thigh and pinning her hips down with one arm, “is very sexy, Rey.”

“Do I need to be jealous of Dop?”

His startled laugh made her grin- and then he bent to the task ahead of him with a generosity that left her quivering and panting, finally pulling away with a smug satisfaction she could discern even through post-orgasm fog. “Rey,” he murmured, hands skimming up her sides to settle on either side of her head. “Still with me, purl girl?”

“You better not be finished,” she managed, not caring about the time or anything other than her desire to have his weight on top of her, skin bare against hers. As he leaned over her to rummage through the bedside table drawer she stretched, a thought coming to mind. “Would you still like to do without those?”

Ben gave her heated look as he ripped open a foil packet. “Yes.” He began to roll the condom down his length, only to pause and consider her thoughtfully, licking his lower lip. “Planning to speed up our timeline on adding a stitch?” 

He wasn’t disturbed by the idea, that much was obvious. Rey could say _yes_ and he’d tug the condom off immediately, falling on her with promises he would do his best never to break. “No.” She reached up, tracing the line of his jaw. “I’m meeting with my doctor tomorrow to discuss birth control options.”

She watched as his expression changed to something hungry and intense, a smile curving her favorite mouth as he finished sheathing himself and settled between her thighs. “I’m going to make such a mess of you, sweetheart,” he promised in a murmur, hooking an arm under her right knee and nudging inside of her with slow, teasing movements. “You have no idea.”

Wrapping her arms around him, she clutched at one firm buttock in an attempt to spur him on. “Tell me about it,” she said, voice breathy- and when he obliged, she nearly came from the fervor of his words alone.

**Friday, August 29, 2019**

She overslept by twenty minutes.

“Do you need a ride?” he asked as she prepared to leave in a complete rush. “Now, or to the doctor. I could pick you up from work.”

“Road traffic will be even worse, and she’s on my way home, on the same line, so no.” Rey kissed him quickly, a half-eaten piece of toast in her hand. “Go back to bed; Dop’s working today.”

“I’m dying the second batch this morning.” Ben slid an arm around her waist, hugging her close. “I’ll be home in time to make dinner.”

“I could pick something up, after.”

“And deprive me of the chance to roast a chicken for you?” 

When she wriggled away to grab her thermos of tea, she spotted him slipping a small box into her purse out of the corner of her eye. “Have a good day at work.”

On the train- she had barely made it through the doors, after making the split-second decision to plant one last kiss on his mouth- Rey finally had a chance to rummage through her bag to examine his present: her favorite chocolate truffles, from the shop near his work. 

**7:13 am**

Ben  
  
You spoil me  
  
Nope.  
  
You bought those before I told you about my appointment.  
  
I picked them up yesterday at lunch. I thought you’d like a Friday treat.  
  
I’m going to polish your needle when I get home  
  
Unzip your provisional cast on  
  
Rey.  
  
Do a fuck ton of oral frogging  
  
Is this getting too weird?  
  
Please be this weird for the rest of our lives.  
  


**3:39 pm**

Ben  
  
Running by the pharmacy with my scrip. Do you need anything?  
  
No. Are you okay?  
  
I’m fine  
  
The meds won’t kick in for a week.  
  
I mean, I’m not interested in anything below the waist after meeting up with a speculum again, but I’m not dying  
  
I would like some wine and cuddling though  
  
I happen to have plenty of both.  
  
Then I’m going to make you forget your name.  
  
You don’t have to.  
  
Oh, I WANT to.  
  


**Tuesday, September 1, 2019**

The problem with Ben- not that Rey necessarily considered it a problem, most of the time- was his penchant for researching practically everything, which was why within twenty-four hours of swallowing her first pill he was well-versed on all potential side-effects up to and including death. Which led to him watching her with a faintly guilt-stricken expression, and making carefully phrased inquiries into her health, and giving her more kisses than she could count, and all of that was on top of an increased workload on his part, as he and his assistants dyed the last of the yarn and prepared for the coming storm. 

“You’ll let me know if you hate the meds,” he said Tuesday evening as she was preparing for bed. “Right?”

“Nothing weird so far,” she said with a half-shrug while applying toner. “I feel normal, I promise.”

“Because we could keep using condoms.”

“I know.” She reached for her moisturizer, glancing down at Revan as he rubbed against her legs. “I’m looking forward to those promises you made to get me all dirty.” Rey didn’t have to see his face to know that he was blushing. “Sexy knitter in the streets, filthy in the sheets,” she added teasingly, grinning.

“Only if you like it,” he said in a sheepish, quiet tone. 

“I like it plenty.” 

He still hadn’t replied by the time she joined him on the bed, cuddling up under his arm. Breha sauntered over the covers, butting against Rey’s calf before flopping over onto her side. “You’re getting shadows under your eyes,” Rey said softly. “Is it me, or the shop?”

“Both,” Ben admitted. “I just- I’m anxious, this week. I’m not sure why it’s all hitting me so hard.” With a sigh he brushed a kiss over her hair, fingertips dragging over her bare shoulder. “Busiest day of the year, and dealing with so many people is _exhausting..._ and I love you.” He dropped a soft kiss on the tip of her nose. “The condoms are annoying, but they don’t come with dire medical warnings.”

“I’m healthy,” she reminded him. “Partially thanks to you and your excellent cooking.”

He tilted her chin up gently with one finger. “After we’re done having children, I’ll have a vasectomy.”

Rey- legitimately startled by the offer- stared at him. “That’s surgery.”

“Very safe surgery,” he countered. “And usually reversible, if we change our minds down the road. There’s no need for you to take medication every day until menopause, or for us to toss who knows how many condoms into a landfill-”

“You’ve been thinking about this,” she murmured, hearing in his voice a certainty born of real consideration. 

“Yes. It makes sense, don’t you think? Even if we never have children, for one reason or another-”

“I want them,” she interjected, and he cuddled her closer with a pleased, quiet laugh. 

“So do I.” He nuzzled his nose against her hair, large hand curling around her shoulder. “I just want to share the burden… and in the scheme of things, a vasectomy is a small thing. So when you feel like we’ve added enough stitches, you let me know.”

Rey snorted a laugh. “That could be one, or six.”

“I’m not the one giving birth to them.”

“But if I decide I want six, and you want two, you will let me know?”

“Do you see yourself wanting six?”

“No,” Rey conceded after a moment. “I would just feel bad if I gave up after one and you wanted more.”

“Again, I’m not the one giving birth.” He waited until she met his gaze again, and then- with an earnestness that was so entirely Ben- said, “I will treasure any child we might have- and more than that, I do and will treasure _you._ Whether our bodies cooperate with our plans or not.” 

She melted, a little, leaning into him. “I love you, Ben.”

“I love you, too.” He hesitated, cheeks tinting pink. “Though speaking of bodies not cooperating… I might be exhausted Friday night, from prep. And Saturday night. And maybe Sunday morning, judging by last year.”

“You didn’t say anything, last year.”

“We’d only been on a handful of dates, last year. I didn’t want to bore you.”

“I wasn’t bored then, and I’m not now. And I won’t be mad if we can’t have sex the first day it’s safe.” She poked him lightly in the chest with one finger. “The store is closed Sunday, and we both have Monday off. You can sleep in, and I’ll make you a nice brunch, and if you find yourself in the mood after that-”

“Highly likely.”

“-then we can enjoy each other and still have time to wash the sheets before bed.” Rey shifted to straddle his lap, kissing him soundly. “And I’m picking up lunch for you and your staff on Saturday. You put in the order with that deli down the street from the shop, right?”

His hands closed lightly over her hips, a soft smile on his face. “I did.”

“Then expect to see me around noon, sandwiches and salads in hand.” She grinned. “Besides, I want to see the crowd.”

Ben was still smiling, his thumbs stroking the sensitive skin under the hem of her tank top. “You take such good care of me.”

“I could say the same to you.” His eyelids were drooping- and so were hers, after a long day of work- so she kissed him gently before sliding off his lap. “Turn off your light,” she said as the other two cats joined them on the bed. “I’ll cuddle you, tonight.”

And under a pile of three cats she did just that, Ben’s ear just over her heart. 

**Saturday, September 5, 2019**

“-and then Beeb jumped over the vet’s shoulder and landed in the sink.” Rose, looking aggrieved, picked up her coffee cup. “Yowling loud enough to wake the dead.”

Rey barely managed not to laugh. “Not the worst appointment she’s ever had.”

“But she’s so sweet at home! You could use her as a mop and she’d probably just purr.”

Jess rolled her eyes. “Only for you. She’s a hellbeast.”

Rey sat back, sipping her bellini as her friends bantered about their small creamsicle of a cat, who loved only two people on the planet, as best Rey could tell: Rose, and Ben. Every occasion at Rose and Jess’ apartment involved Beebee curled up on Ben’s lap, staring up at him adoringly and littering light colored hairs all over his clothing. 

“At least she has her shots for the year,” Jess said with a sigh, and looked around. “I like this place. We’ll have to come back, even if it is all the way across town from our apartment.” She slid a smirking glance toward Rey. “ _Very_ near the yarn shop, though.”

“I’m picking up lunch for Ben after we’re done, as well you know, and then I’m going to stand over him while he eats.” Rey downed the last of her drink, pleased by the light buzz of alcohol in her veins, the pretty day, the opportunity to take care of Ben as he so often took care of her. “If I don’t everyone _but_ Ben will eat.” 

“Well, we’re coming with you.” Rose speared a bite of french toast, swirling the square in the puddle of maple syrup. “You only have two hands.”

“And we want to see this yarn in honor of your nipples.”

Rey ducked her head, nearly choking on a chunk of fried potato. “ _Jess._ ”

“If you don’t want us to know these things you really need to stop texting after the first glass of wine.”

Rey’s muttered “Fuck” just increased Rose and Jess’ Cheshire grins. 

“Are we going to be allowed to compare shades?”

“ _No._ ”

“Pity.” Jess sighed dramatically, looking around for their waitress. “A second round, then, and we’ll interrogate you on what lingerie you intend to wear tomorrow.”

“Why do I tell you anything?”

“Because you love us.” Jess shot back the dregs of her bloody mary. “And if you spill the details, I’ll tell you about my date with Rose’s sister last week.”

“ _What?_ ”

\- - -

“My God, they’re spilling out the door,” Rose said in awe as they approached _Varykino Yarns,_ each loaded down with provisions. “I didn’t think it would be _this_ out of control.”

Rey felt a little stunned herself. “Ben said it was a big draw, but- huh.”

Yarn, as well Rey knew, was serious business. More than once she had watched Ben explore a new yarn shop (an inevitable stop on every trip they took), considering skeins with the quiet intensity of a man high on wool fumes and possibilities. He had a tendency to prowl along overstuffed shelves, fingertips trailing over cashmeres and silks and cottons, in a manner so unintentionally sexy that Rey had never dared tell him for fear that he would become too self-conscious and stop. 

_My yarn hunter,_ she thought with a swell of warmth, her surprise turning into pride. _I’m going to drop every stitch he has._

They wove through the crowd, passing Plutt’s shop with only a quick glance from Rey ( _the displays are dusty, one light is out; thank God I’m not there anymore_ ), waiting politely for a clutch of crafters to finish leaving the shop before entering themselves. The interior was even more crowded with chattering people of all ages, customers far outnumbering the staff and volunteers working that day. Ben, though, was impossible to miss with the way he stood at least a head taller than nearly everyone else in the room, his attention on the woman standing beside him. 

Standing a little too close, in Rey’s opinion. The stranger stared up at him with a bright smile, hands full of yarn and curls tumbling around her shoulders, talking in a low enough voice that his head was bent toward her to catch every word amid the noise. With Ben’s back directly against the counter and shoppers on either side, he didn’t have a free direction in which to move. 

“You aren’t going to jump her, are you?” Jess asked, tone hinting that she would actually love to see that happen, thank you. “Start a rumble in the laceweight corner?”

Rey huffed a wry laugh. “No.”

“Because Rose and I could hold her down.”

“Do you think she’s the first person to try flirting with Ben in front of me?” Rey asked, one brow raised, as they slid past four women comparing different aran weight yarns. “The man attracts attention wherever he goes.”

_Not that I like it, but-_

At that exact moment Ben lifted his head to look around the room, a polite expression on his face, and caught sight of Rey- and he smiled. _Beamed,_ broad and warm and utterly genuine, the set of his shoulders immediately relaxing. 

_-but he always, always, stays true to me._

The woman took a step back, looking a little surprised, and Rey caught a glimpse of her rueful sigh before she turned to join the line at the register. 

“Hey, baby,” Ben murmured when they met, cupping her face and dropping a gentle kiss onto her hair. “Best sight I’ve seen all day.” He raised his voice slightly to address all three of them with, “Thank you. It would have been hard to spare someone to run that errand.”

“And miss all this?” Jess said in an amused tone. “We’ll drop the food off in the back and take a quick look around before getting out of your hair. Rey, do you want us to wait for you?”

“No.” She gave Ben a firm look. “I’m only leaving after he sits down for fifteen minutes straight and eats his vegetables.”

“I should-”

“You should do that now.” Dop appeared, interrupting Ben without a qualm. He held an armload of sock yarn skeins, clearly mid-restock. “We’ve all had a morning break except for you; go eat a sandwich.”

“Dop’s a wise man. Come on,” Rey said cheerfully, handing Ben several of the bags when he held out his hands and taking advantage of her newly unencumbered state to grab of his elbow. “You get grumpy when you’re hungry.”

“I do not,” Ben protested unconvincingly.

“And if your blood sugar drops too low you might faint, taking out who knows how many admiring knitters on your way down.”

Jess, just a few steps ahead of them, snorted. A hint of a blush appeared on Ben’s cheeks. “I’ve never fainted in my life.”

“First time for everything.” When they paused to let a volunteer- one of Ben’s D&D group- scurry past with a basket of yarn, Rey lifted to her toes to press a kiss against Ben’s cheek. “Pizza okay for dinner?”

“Yes.” He gave her a small, teasing smile as they entered the back room, the noise level dropping. “Going to tuck me into bed tonight, purl girl?” he asked in a murmur.

“I might,” she said airily, releasing her hold on him to give both Rose and Jess quick hugs. “I’ve got it from here. Thank you.”

“No prob.” Jess picked up a skein of nearby pink yarn- and _oh,_ Ben had done far too good a job on that shade- a grin spreading over her face after reading the label. “‘Rose Bud’, huh?”

Ben dropped into a chair, a hint of sly amusement on his face that only increased when Rey rolled her eyes, lips pressed into a thin line to hide her smile. “For my English rose.”

“Uh huh.” Jess carefully set the yarn aside with a wink. “See you later, guys.”

Once they were alone and the door was shut, Ben reached out and snared Rey around the waist, drawing her closer until she stood between his legs. “What a morning, sweetheart,” he said with a sigh, resting his head against her breasts. When she slipped her fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp, he seemed to almost purr. “Did you have a good brunch?” 

“I had a lovely time, thank you.” A burst of muffled laughter on the other side of the door tipped a corner of her mouth up. “I could still stay, you know. Station myself at the ball-winding station, refill cubbies.”

“No, but thank you.” One of his hands cupped her ass as he made a happy, contented sound. “Go home, sweetheart. You’ve worked hard this week.” He pulled back just enough to smile up at her. “And brunch means bellinis, which means you’re going to be very sleepy in about an hour.”

“Well, yes. But I could press through.”

“Nope. Take a nap. Let the cats snooze on top of you; you know they love that.”

“Hmm.” She turned slightly in his grip, sitting on one solid thigh. “Eat, then, and I’ll go.”

Ben kept one arm around her waist, leaning his head against hers for a long moment. “I love you, purl girl.”

“I love you, too.” A quick kiss, a snuggle against his broad chest. “And I’m going to want cables on those socks. The color of that yarn is positively uncanny.”

“Long, devoted study, sweetheart.” 

\- - -

She did tuck him in, after pizza and wine and a long shower, and after perching on his back and working several knots out of his shoulders. He was asleep within minutes of her initial efforts, sprawled on his belly and utterly oblivious to Bastila’s curious sniff of his hair and Rey’s eventual slip to the side. 

“We’re so far in the black we’re obsidian,” he had mumbled before succumbing to sleep. “God, I love yarn crawl.”

God, she loved him. Her fingertips skimmed over his bare back briefly before pulling the light blanket up around his shoulders.

Ben  
  
You won’t get this til the morning  
  
But you’re so fucking cute when you sleep  
  


**Sunday, September 6, 2019**

Ben peeked at her through half-open eyes in the morning light, hair mussed and a hint of a crease on the cheek still pressed to his pillow. “Purl girl.”

The rasp to his voice was delicious. “My hard-working yarn purveyor.” Yawning, she rolled to her back and stretched. “Survivor of Yarn Crawl 2019.”

With a mild grumble he moved closer until he was half on top of her. She had been right about the crease, which ran nearly parallel to his scar. “Sweetheart.”

“Hmmm?”

“I would really, _really_ love some pancakes.”

Her lips curled upward in a smile. “Luckily for you, I’m pretty damn good at those.”

Sunlight spilled through the windows as they ate pancakes with butter and real maple syrup, bacon on the side. Across the table Ben sipped coffee sleepy-eyed as the cats worked out their morning zooms, tearing through pools of light and shadows and nearly catapulting off the walls. “I think I need to wake up more before I wow you,” he said after demolishing a stack nearly as high as hers, slumping back in his seat in a loose-limbed, in need of a nap manner. 

“You realize I don’t need a performance, right?” She nudged at his foot with her bare toes. “Let’s watch a movie.”

He fell asleep on her lap ten minutes in, Breha draped over his hip. Rey took a picture of the contented, seemingly boneless cat against black pajama pants and sent a copy to his phone after making it her new background.

“I’m awake now,” Ben insisted over lunch, a leftover slice of pizza in his hand and his words fuzzy.

“Really?” Rey leaned back against the kitchen counter, smirking. “Are you sure?”

“The nap just has me out of sorts.”

“Uh huh.” She plucked a piece of pepperoni off her own slice, popping it into her mouth. “All soft and cute and tired.”

He swallowed a bite, blinking a few times. “Maybe a little.”

Rey considered him as Revan wound around her ankles, feeling rather soft herself. “How would you feel if I tugged you back to the bedroom, pushed you down on the bed, and had my wicked way with you?” She took a few careful steps forward until they stood toe to toe, her half-eaten slice still in one hand. “Just a nice, leisurely interlude,” she murmured, dragging a finger down his chest. “You and me and some needlework.”

Ben’s breathing seemed to grow more shallow, his gaze much more alert. “Do you ever regret the knitting innuendo?”

“Nope.”

“Me neither.”

“Good.” She ate another bite, staying exactly where she was, and gave the slice in his hand a meaningful look. _Calories,_ she was trying to imply, and he seemed to understand the general gist because he immediately began eating again, nudging one of his feet between hers.

“I’ve been looking forward to this all week,” he said, licking a bit of red sauce from his lower lip. “Have I told you that?”

“A few times.”

“The thought of being bare inside you just… just _does_ something to me, Rey.”

She leaned in a little, belly brushing against the erection beginning to strain against his pajama pants. “Is that so.”

“Yeah.” 

“We’ve been together for more than a year, now.”

“I know.” He smiled, head bent toward her. “I very clearly remember our anniversary weekend on Tybee Island.”

“You very clearly remember my bikini.”

“That, and that lovely dinner we had the day of. The wine we drank, the way that chocolate souffle tasted on your tongue when I kissed you.” He lowered his voice to a teasing rumble. “The noises you made in bed, that night- and how you snuggled against me, after.”

“Do I ever not snuggle?” Rey asked, dropping her pizza onto the plate on the counter and very nearly missing. 

“No.” He tossed his slice in the same general direction without looking, then closed his hands around her waist. “But it’s so sweet, Rey. Every time you curl up against me, at ease and trusting, I feel…”

Ben paused, eyes dark and soft. “Like I’ve done something right. Like every stitch is neat and correct.”

“It’s a good pattern.” Rey looped her arms around his neck, tugging him close. “Let’s add a few rows.”

Originally, Rey had envisioned donning the lingerie from their first time, had thought of having a nice dinner and sharing a bottle of sparkling wine before finally toppling into bed together, perhaps in the glow of candlelight. Instead they put away the pizza (because onions were bad for cats, and they both loved those imps dearly), and wandered hand in hand back to the bedroom, smiling. There was no lace, no moonlight, nothing more than him and her and quiet laughter as they stripped each other bare. It was sweet, and messy, and nothing at all like Rey had expected.

It was better. 

He fell asleep in her arms, head pillowed against her breasts, and she joined him in a perfect afternoon nap.


End file.
